THE current state of the UK farming economy and the future of farming across Yorkshire and the north of England were the topics at a series of rural breakfast seminars hosted by Savills York.

Almost 150 farmers, landowners and professionals gathered at Rogerthorpe Manor Hotel, near Pontefract, Tickton Grange Hotel, Beverley, and Sandburn Hall in York for the seminars.

The county’s food and farming industry was discussed by Richard Morley of Savills. He summarised the challenges facing businesses, focussing on costs and performance to try and address squeezed margins.

He said there will be future opportunities for farmers, but management of costs will be key. He identified a number of grants currently available for business diversification and improving efficiency.

On Brexit, Mr Morley said: "There are still many unknowns as to what the future holds for UK agriculture in terms of a new support system as well as how the trade negotiations will affect incomes for sale of farm produce.

"However, there will inevitably be opportunities that arise for those best prepared post-2020 and my message to farmers is to start looking at their businesses now in order to identify how they will thrive post reform."

David Padgett, from Argrain, spoke about the importance for farmers to focus on the grain market and opportunities for maximising returns, while consultant and former retail buyer, Tom Richardson, discussed selling to supermarkets from a buyer’s perspective.

Andrew Black, head of the farm agency for Savills in the North of England, spoke about the current state of the farmland market in Yorkshire and the wider region.

He said that of the 180,000 acres of land marketed across Great Britain last year – a two percent increase on 2015 – approximately 17,500 acres was marketed across Yorkshire and the Humber.

The total value of British farmland and woodland has increased by 149 per cent over the past ten years, and as such there are not many other asset classes that would have performed so well over the same period.

Mr Black said: "We are currently witnessing a widening in the range of values achieved and the market has become very spread from sub £7,000/acre at the bottom end of the scale, to in excess of £12,000/acre at the top. Appeal is very much determined by location, location, location rather than quality in many cases.

"Looking ahead, we anticipate average farmland values to soften slightly in 2017 and 2018, but we expect to see a 5.5 per cent increase over the next five years. This is down to a number of factors including a restricted supply of farmland and a widening gap between prime and poor land. We also anticipate an increased number of debt related sales and retirement sales over the period leading up to 2021."

Savills Research team has put a value on all of Great Britain’s farmland and woodland. Taking into account land grades and use, as well as including a discount to vacant possession value for tenanted farmland, the 39.8 million acres are currently worth £185.7 billion.

The north of England's 6.4 million acres have a combined value of £33.6 billion, a 134 per cent rise over the past ten years.